


here's my number (call me maybe)

by orphan_account



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Brief homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, M/M, Past Relationship(s), for like a sentence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-09
Updated: 2014-07-09
Packaged: 2018-02-08 02:59:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1924191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis cocks his head to the side.”Rest assured,” he says.  “I’ll take very good care of your daughter while you’re off, <i>obviously</i>, having a nice day of work.”</p>
<p>Louis leans in closer to Harry, still looking up and straight into his eyes. He’s full out smirking now and Harry can’t resist giving him a look from head to toe. He feels his head getting a little fuzzy.</p>
<p>“I promise I’ll send her home full of exciting new knowledge.” He leans away suddenly and Harry’s left so much more confused than when he walked into the room.</p>
<p>Louis grins and does a little wave at Harry. “Have a nice day!” he says, grinning.</p>
<p>Harry watches him walk away, mouth slack and eyebrows furrowed. He’s never been so confused in his whole life. He shakes his head and goes to walk out the door. Louis winks at him as he passes, but Harry ignores it. He can’t be attracted to Poppy’s teacher, that’s just wrong.</p>
<p>or </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Harry loves his daughter, and he might be falling in love with her teacher.</p>
            </blockquote>





	here's my number (call me maybe)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kbelle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kbelle/gifts).



> hi!! i hope you like this :))

Harry loves Poppy -- he _really_ does -- but it gets kind of annoying when his bedroom door slams open every morning and he's suddenly hit in his solar plexus. Poppy leaps onto him, slamming her elbow into his stomach, and a breath of air whooshes out of his lungs which leaves him _very_ breathless. He squeezes his eyes tighter shut and groans, making Poppy giggle.

"Wake up, Daddy," she says, poking her finger into his dimples. 

Harry moves his hand around the bed until he finds a pillow that he immediately puts over his face and groans into. Poppy bats at his arm, giggling _still_ , until he moves it lower down his body and his eyes become exposed. He peeks at her above the pillow and she smiles. 

"We're a bit chipper this morning, aren't we?" he asks, raising an eyebrow. Poppy covers her eyes in peek-a-boo fashion and peers at him through her fingers.

"There's school today," she says in a small voice, sounding a little sheepish.

Harry gestures for her to get off his stomach and he pats the space next to him. When Poppy finally moves off and lies next to him, he turns on his side, puts his hands underneath his head, and grins at her. She grins back at him and starts giggling, making Harry's heart seize up. His grin smoothes into a fond smile and he waits until she's calmed down to place a serious expression on his face. She mimics it, eyebrows furrowing and mouth puckering up, and Harry has to fight the urge to smile. 

"So," he begins in what he hopes is a firm voice. Poppy nods at him once, so he assumes it's doing the job. "You're starting Year One today." 

Poppy nods again. 

"You excited?" Harry asks.

She nods her head so vigorously that her curls start shaking all around her head and into Harry's face. He spits a curl out of his mouth before giving her a smile that she returns.

"Good," he says. "We'll have breakfast in a bit and then we'll get ready, yeah?"

She nods again and Harry takes his hands from under his head to cuddle her into his chest. They stay like that for a few minutes until Harry notices the time on his nightstand clock. His eyes grow wide and he stops rubbing circles into Poppy's back.

"Poppy," he says slowly. "It's five o' clock in the morning. You do know school starts at nine, right?"

She smiles up at him and gives him a small shrug. Harry can't find it in himself to be annoyed at her so he just settles for cuddling her closer and closing his eyes. 

"Nap first," he mumbles. "Then breakfast."

+++++++

"Daddy, look at the puppy," Poppy squeals, voice rising in excitement. Harry smiles politely at the dog owner when they walk past and glances down at Poppy. 

"It's a very cute puppy," he says. It makes her smile up at him, making his smile bigger and his hold on her hand a little tighter. 

Harry looks back up to the passing trees and buildings until he sees a steady stream of kids and parents walking into the gates of a building. He swallows nervously and ignores the little pang that shoots through his chest. He distracts himself by rooting around his pocket with his free hand to find a piece of paper with Poppy's room number on it. He already knows what it says -- Room 107 -- but it doesn't hurt to double check.

He glances down at Poppy one more time, but she's too busy being excited at everything they pass to notice his gaze. He grips her hand and follows the flow of the other families past the gate and into the building's front doors.

Harry leads them past the administrative offices and into the hallway with the classrooms. He passes Room 101, 102, 104, 106 until --

Poppy stops staring at all the walls and walks in front of Harry. He sucks in a deep breath in front of the bright red door and squeezes Poppy's hand. 

"We're here," he says in a quiet voice. Poppy lets out a squeal of excitement, oblivious to Harry's growing melancholy, and releases his hand to clap hers together.

Before he can stop her, she's turning the silver handle on the door and pushing forward until she's a few steps past the classroom's threshold. Harry steps in behind her with trepidation, but actually furrows his brows and stops because – _what_?

Usually when he thinks of primary school classrooms, he imagines bright colors and a radiance that shines throughout the entire room. He doesn't think of empty white walls and empty white desks, but the room he walks into is extremely bland -- even the children's tables and chairs are white.

Harry almost feels like he's in a hospital from how sterile everything looks which is a contrast from the bright red door. He can't help but to wrinkle his nose when he looks down to ask Poppy how she likes the room, but she's gone. His head pops up and he frantically looks around to spot where she ran off to.

He sees her surrounded by a group of other kids so he stands awkwardly for a minute, watching her animatedly tell a story. He watches with a dopey smile on his face until he realizes that he has a _really_ important meeting to attend. He walks over to her and puts both hands on her shoulders, waiting for her to finish her story. She looks up at him with confused green eyes. 

"Hey, sweetheart," he says, keeping his voice quiet. He sees the other kids out of the corner of his eye shrug at each other before walking away. "How're you doing?"

She smiles brightly for a moment before launching into the story about how she met the other kids, and how she started telling them the story about how one time Uncle Niall taught her how to play a song on his guitar. Harry patiently waits for Poppy to finish her _exciting_ retelling. She gets the rambling gene from him -- it's the least he can do.

"Very nice," Harry says when she's done. "You've already got four friends down; the rest will come easy."

Poppy beams up at him and Harry hates to do this -- he _does_ \-- but he has to get to _work_.

"Alright, sweetheart," he says softly. "Daddy has to go to work now, yeah?"

Poppy blinks up at him, eyebrows coming together. "You're leaving?" she asks. 

Harry swallows hard at the heartbroken tone of her voice. He nods because he can't say anything or he'll start crying. He doesn't want to leave her either, but he has a very _important_ job he has to get to. 

He watches anxiously as Poppy's eyes begin to water. She grabs onto his leg with a tight grip and clings to him. Harry's eyes go wide as she starts crying and he starts to nervously bite his lip. 

He runs his fingers through her hair and tries to calm her down by whispering reassurances, but it just makes her sob harder. The other parents send him sympathetic looks and he manages a tight smile for them.

"Poppy," he says, voice tinged with a hysterical edge. "I have to go to work; you'll have fun here, I promise." That’s not something he can really promise, but he has to reassure her that she’ll be fine.

Poppy starts to cry even harder and Harry feels his heart shatter into a billion pieces. Just when he's about to start bawling himself, he feels someone gently squeeze his bicep. He looks over his shoulder to see who it is and almost misses them squatting down to Poppy's eye level. 

Poppy immediately stops crying, confused at the intruder. She hiccups as Harry squeezes onto her shoulder. The man smiles at her and Poppy tilts her head. 

"Hello, love," he says.

Harry bristles at the term of endearment, but relaxes when Poppy grabs onto his leg. She looks down shyly and Harry watches as the man's smile flickers. 

"I'm Mr. Tomlinson," he says. Harry fully relaxes when he realizes he's probably the class' teacher. "And you are?"

Poppy looks up at Harry in permission and he nods. He watches carefully as Poppy lets go of his leg and slowly extends her hand. Mr. Tomlinson grins brightly and puts his hand out to shake hers. 

"I'm Poppy," she says, voice quiet and shaky from crying.

"Hi, Poppy," Mr. Tomlinson says. His voice is lighter and softer than the scruff and cheekbones suggest. "I'm your teacher this year. It's very nice to meet you."

Harry watches as Poppy takes a hesitant step forward. "Nice to meet you, too," she says.

Mr. Tomlinson grins so big that the corners of his eyes crinkle up. "Well," he says. "Are you ready to begin class? It'll be really fun, but you have to let your dad go to work first." 

He fakes a little pout for Poppy's sake and Harry watches as Poppy's eyebrows furrow up and she starts to look as if she's going to cry again. He gives her a reassuring pat on her head. 

"But I don't want Daddy to go to work," she says. Her voice is a little shaky and Harry's not going to cry -- he's _not_ \-- but it's hard when Poppy's making him feel so sad. "Why can't he stay?"

Mr. Tomlinson glances up at Harry and a ghost of a smile appears on his face for a second before disappearing. "He has to go to work, darling," he says. "In order to take care of you and make sure you're happy."

Poppy looks up at Harry suddenly and asks, "Really?"

Harry can only nod in confirmation and Poppy still looks like she's on the verge of crying, so he says, "I want to make you the happiest girl in the world."

Poppy starts crying at that again and Harry feels his eyes getting misty. She hugs his leg, and Harry's trying his hardest not to cry but the intense emotions run in the family, and it's making it very difficult not to collapse in the middle of a primary school classroom. 

Mr. Tomlinson clears his throat and Harry blinks as Poppy disentangles herself from him and stops her crying. Harry almost forgot he was there. 

"So, Poppy," Mr. Tomlinson says in a serious and quiet voice. "I have a very important task for you if you think you're up for it."

Poppy immediately nods, face scrunching up like it always does when she becomes determined. 

"I want you to pick somewhere to sit," Mr. Tomlinson continues. He tilts his head towards the desks. "When you get there, you're going to see a white card, understand? You're going to write your name on it however you like. You can make it extremely pretty if you want, but this is extremely important for the whole of the class."

Mr. Tomlinson leans in and Poppy unconsciously repeats the action. "This is your mission," he says. "Are you ready to start?"

Poppy nods and Harry smiles because she's really quite adorable. 

"Alright," Mr. Tomlinson says. "Off you go, then."

Poppy hesitates for a moment, one foot already in front of her, before she turns back around and hugs Harry's leg. Harry's heart swells and he pats her back. 

"Have a good day at work," she says, voice muffled by his jeans. 

“ _You_ have a nice day at school," he replies. "Promise me you will."

Poppy lets go of his leg and steps back. She extends her pinky to Harry and he imitates it. She joins their pinkies together before she says, "I promise."

Harry smiles at her and she smiles right back before turning toward the tables. She giggles and skips over to a desk near the front, where three other kids are. Harry watches her go, heart squeezing a little in his chest, and then shakes his head. He has to get to _work_ , he’s an _adult_.

He hears a pointed cough off to his side and, when he looks, Mr. Tomlinson is standing up, hands on his hips and looking up at him. The soft look he had in his eyes when he was talking to Poppy is gone, replaced by a cold gaze. He’s so much smaller than Harry, but he stands tall, almost on his tip toes, and Harry puts his hands behind his back, somehow feeling extremely intimidated. 

"So," Harry says, face heating up. Mr. Tomlinson had to see him be a giant sap in front of his daughter; he's a little bit more than embarrassed. 

"So," Mr. Tomlinson repeats, slowly smirking. Harry looks down at the floor and clasps his hands behind his back, nervously rocking on his heels. "You must be?"

Harry's head snaps up and he extends his right arm for a handshake. When Mr. Tomlinson just raises an eyebrow and makes no move to return the handshake, he slowly retracts his hand and runs it through his hair nervously.

"Im, uh, Mr. Styles," he says. "Uh, Harry."

"Well, _Harry_ ,” Mr. Tomlinson says. "You can call me Louis."

Harry nods because he's afraid that if he opens his mouth he'll start rambling and say something that makes Mr. Tomlinson -- _Louis_ \-- look at him strangely. 

Louis lifts his chin and says, “Ah. Well.”

Harry narrows his eyebrows. He has no idea what’s happening, but he can’t bring himself to move even with the impending deadline for work looming over him.

Louis cocks his head to the side.”Rest assured,” he says. “I’ll take very good care of your daughter while you’re off, _obviously_ , having a nice day of work.”

Louis leans in closer to Harry, still looking up and straight into his eyes. He’s full out smirking now and Harry can’t resist giving him a look from head to toe. He feels his head getting a little fuzzy.

“I promise I’ll send her home full of exciting new knowledge.” He leans away suddenly and Harry’s left so much more confused than when he walked into the room.

Louis grins and does a little wave at Harry. “Have a nice day!” he says, grinning.

Harry watches him walk away, mouth slack and eyebrows furrowed. He’s never been so confused in his whole life. He shakes his head and goes to walk out the door. Louis winks at him as he passes, but Harry ignores it. He can’t be attracted to Poppy’s teacher, that’s just wrong.

++++++++

Harry walks into the studio, breathless and sweaty, only to find Zayn and Niall kicked back in their chairs talking to each other. They stop their conversation and raise their eyebrows in creepy synchronization towards Harry. He flops down into the plush leather chair and sighs.

“Her teacher is really attractive,” he says.

“Well, hello to you too,” Zayn says, but he sounds more amused than anything. “How has your morning been?”

Harry sighs again and put his head into his hands. 

"I think that answers that, mate," Niall says, laughing. 

Harry groans a little pitifully as Zayn walks over and takes the seat next to him. 

"Poppy didn't want me to leave so I had to stay for a bit and she cried _so much_ ," he says, voice muffled by his jacket. 

Harry doesn't have to look to know that Niall and Zayn are exchanging worried glances. 

"How'd you get out, then?" Zayn asks. 

"Better question," Niall says. "How'd you get out and only manage to be ten minutes late?"

"The teacher -- Mr. Tomlinson -- took care of it," Harry answers. "He was nice to Poppy, but less than nice to me and I think I might want to shag him."

Niall giggles and Harry's a little offended actually. He's in _pain_ , he is _suffering_. "Well, you'll get to see him later when you pick Poppy up," Niall tells him. "Maybe you can suck his dick." 

"Ex _cuse_ me," Harry says, lifting his head to glare at Niall. "Don't be rude."

Niall laughs again and spins away in his chair to get to the soundboard. Zayn sighs and stands up, stretching his arms out.

"Simon knows you were late, by the way," he says helpfully. "He says the meeting is postponed until tomorrow and to not be late next time."

Harry nods and Zayn offers him a hand to help him up. Harry takes it and hoists himself up before walking over to where Niall is. He nods at Zayn and says, "Let's do a session, yeah? Get that new track produced and all."

Zayn grins at him, and Harry is kind of mad that he has such an attractive friend, because Zayn looks like an angel. Louis looks like an angel too, but Harry shakes his head before he can delve further into that thought. Zayn starts singing in the booth and Harry lets the memories of the morning sit at the back of his mind.

++++++

When Harry goes to pick Poppy up from school, Zayn and Niall decide to tag along because they're insufferable and meddlesome. Because Harry spent so much time arguing against them going with him, he's the last one in Louis' classroom. 

When they arrive, Poppy is coloring on a sheet of paper and Louis' sat next to her, almost fitting into the child-sized chair. They're deep in conversation and Harry feels a low heat on his face when he clears his throat. Both of their heads shoot up to look at him, and while Louis looks less than impressed, Poppy is all smiles.

Poppy rushes up out of her seat and runs over to give Harry a hug. He bends down an wraps his arms around her and asks, "How was your day?"

Poppy says, "Good," and then Louis is clearing his throat and Harry has to stand up. They share a moment of looking into each others eyes before Louis gives him a not-so-subtle once over.

"Are you always late to things, Mr. Styles," he says. "Or is that just today?" 

Harry knows that he's blushing bright red so he shakes his hair out and combs his fingers through his fringe like he does when he's nervous.

"Just Harry is fine," he says, in lieu of responding to the question. Louis' mouth twitches into a smirk, but it falls when theres a clattering behind Harry.

He knows it's Zayn and Niall and his entire face is heated up, he's so embarrassed. 

Poppy, though, is delighted.

"Uncle Zayn!" she yells. "Uncle Niall!"

She runs over to them and hugs them all while Louis is looking more and more confused by the second. Harry thinks it's kind of adorable actually. 

He becomes the confused one himself when Louis, out of nowhere, asks "Zayn?"

Zayn smirks and glances quickly at Harry before moving out of Poppy's embrace in Louis' direction. "Oh, hey Tommo," he says. 

Harry knows his face is extremely red, but he has good reason. Thoughts of earlier in the morning when he'd told Zayn how much he wants to shag Louis come back with a vengeance. Zayn didn't say he knows him; Harry's feeling a little betrayed. 

"You know Harry?" Louis asks, oblivious to Harry's death glares at Zayn. Harry's going to murder him if he lets anything slip, he swears to god. 

"Yeah," Zayn says, still smirking. "He's my songwriter."

"Ah," Louis says. He turns back to give Harry a reassuring glance, but Harry ducks his head out of sheer embarrassment. 

He turns towards where Poppy and Niall are having an animated conversation. He needs to leave before Zayn -- or Niall, even -- says something extremely embarrassing. 

He's managed to move over to Poppy and caredully tell her that they're leaving before Poppy's face lights up again. "Can I say goodbye to Mr. Tomlinson, first?" she asks.

Harry swallows and nods. She runs back to her desk and grabs her paper before walking up to Louis and taps him on his leg. Louis stops his conversation with Zayn and he looks a bit smug, so Harry definitely thinks the cat is out of the bag. 

"Bye, Mr. Tomlinson," Poppy says. "I had a nice day."

Louis smiles and pats her head. Everyone says their round if goodbyes before they're walking out the door. They're almost out the door, and Harry's about to give Zayn a mouthful, when Louis says, "Harry, can you stay back a minute?"

Harry freezes, gulps, and then, after a moment's hesitation, nods his head. He nods at Niall for them to keep going, and he doesn't turn around until he knows for a fact that they're far enough down the hall not to head anything. He doesn't want to become even more embarrassed.

When he turns around, he's expecting the cold gaze he'd gotten in the morning, but instead Louis just looks like a delicate mixture of smug and amused. They stare at each other a few minutes, Harry rocking on his heels nervously, before Louis chuckles and crosses his arms. 

"So," he says. 

"So," Harry repeats, hoarsely. It's a bit like a reversal of that morning. 

"Zayn told me something very interesting," Louis says raising his eyebrow. 

Harry's heart starts to beat a little faster and his cheeks are flaming. "What did he say?"

"Something about shagging," Louis says with a smirk. Harry feels his entire body flushing. "I'm not really sure."

"Oh," Harry says, not really sure how to respond. "Um."

Louis laughs and behind his desk. He starts messing about with some papers and doesn't talk for a solid minute. He keeps chuckling to himself, but Harry's rooted to the spot and can't even make himself walk out the door. It's a clear dismissal and when he finally regains enough strength to move, he lets out a giant breath and makes to walk out the door.

Just when he thinks the humiliation is over Louis says, "Hey."

Harry looks back, his eyes begging for mercy. 

"Make sure you look at Poppy's drawing," he says. Harry's a bit confused. "It was one of the best in the class. Thought you should know."

Harry thinks he's going to say more, but he doesn't so he walks out of the room. When he gets to the car Zayn starts laughing at him, so he ignores him for the rest of the day. 

++++++

When he gets home, Poppy is babbling about her day. He suddenly remembers what Louis said and he waits for Poppy to finish her story.

"Mr. Tomlinson told me you did a nice drawing today," he starts. "Can I see it, pretty please?"

Poppy grins and her eyes start to sparkle. She's so adorable; Harry genuinely thinks she's a Disney princess. She thrusts the paper in her hands at Harry and he takes is gingerly.

It's -- well. It's nice. It's sort of a green lizard-looking blob, but it's nice. He tells her as much. Her ensuing smile is so big that Harry finds hjmself grinning too.

"Mr. Tomlinson told us to draw our family," she says. "So I drew you."

Harry giggles because, wow, that does not look like him at all, but he appreciates the sentiment nevertheless.

"Well, it's lovely," Harry says. He hugs Poppy and she returns his embrace. "Thank you, poppet."

Poppy does the little shy, special smile she does whenever Harry uses that pet name. Harry rubs her back a little and they settle in to watch something on the telly.

++++++

When Harry puts Poppy to bed and he suddenly remembers the drawing laying on the living room table. He picks it up to hang it on the fridge, and only then notices the red writing at the bottom. He smiles and puts it on the fridge anyway.

+++++++

_Hello, sunshine. Call me maybe? :)_

+++++++

Harry doesn't call, but the knowledge that Louis wants him, too, makes him start awkward flirting whenever he drops off and picks Poppy up from school. 

They keep up their ritual of awkward flirting over the course of the first term, and there's a week until holiday when Harry walks into the classroom. 

The walls are half decorated with the children's assignments and it's an extremely colorful contrast to the first day. Poppy hops over to him already rambling about her day. When she's finished, Harry smiles and tells her how wonderful her story was. When they're about to leave, Louis motions for Harry to come over. 

"Hey, love," Harry says to Poppy. "You don't mind waiting a few minutes do you?"

She really shouldn't, actually, since Harry's been doing this ever since he received Louis' number (that he has still yet to use).

She shakes her head and walks over to the kid's table to draw. Harry walks over to Louis and he still always feels nervous around him, it's ridiculous. 

"So," Louis says, smiling.

"So," Harry repeats.

They look at each other for a moment before bursting into a fit of giggles. Harry's amazed at how childish they both are. 

"So," Louis says, more serious this time. "I was thinking of maybe taking you to dinner?"

Harry short-circuits a little at the question, which seems to send out the wrong answer because Louis' eyes get wide.

"No, um," he stutters. "You don't have to if you don't want to; it's fine."

"No," Harry interrupts. "It's okay. I really do want to go for dinner with you, but --"

Louis looks hopeful for a minute, so Harry just looks down at his shoes so he doesn't have to look him in the eye.

"I don't think I'm ready yet."

There's silence for a few minutes before Harry looks up, confused, only to find Louis smiling at him a bit sadly. His eyes don't crinkle and Harry feels kind of bad.

"It's okay," Louis says. "I don't want to pressure you into something you don't want."

Harry could kiss him, honestly.

So he does. 

But on the cheek.

Louis looks a little shell-shocked so Harry takes that as his opportunity to leave. He manages to hoist Poppy up onto her shoulders and is halfway out the door before Louis moves. He mouths a silent _thank you_ in his direction before taking Poppy home.

++++++

As he's tucking Poppy in that night, she asks, "Is Mr. Tomlinson going to be my new daddy?"

And yeah, Harry's fucked.

++++++

He starts avoiding Louis after that to the point where he sends Niall to pick Poppy up from school. In the mornings, he's the last to arrive and leaves while Louis is too busy with the other kids to talk. 

He thinks he's doing a pretty good job, to be quite honest. 

When he goes in for work, after leaving a still confused Poppy, Zayn just gives him an unimpressed look and turns back to the soundboard. 

"Are you ignoring Louis?" he asks. 

Harry opens and closes his mouth a few times, before sinking into the chair next to Zayn.

"I'm not avoiding him," he starts. Zayn's glare shuts him up. "Okay so maybe I am avoiding him. I don't see the issue."

"Well," Zayn says, leaning back. "He thinks you hate him for no reason and I'm tired of hearing him talk about it."

"It's been three days," Harry says. 

"Three days too long," Zayn says. He spins his chair around and actually gets to work so Harry takes that as the end of the conversation. He sighs and starts writing out some lyrics.

++++++

When Harry gets home, he finally uses the number on Poppy's first drawing. He taps his finger against the counter as the phone rings. 

"Uh, hello?" says the tinny voice on the other end. "Who's this?"

Harry clears his throat. "It's, um, Harry." 

There's silence for a few beats before Louis says, "Oh."

Harry clears his throat again -- he's so nervous. "I was wondering if you maybe wanted to get dinner?"

His voice gets to sigh at the last part that he puts his forehead against the wall instead of just slamming his face into it. Louis starts laughing, but it sounds a little hysterical even Harry's end. 

"Oh, _really_?" 

Harry winces. 

"Yeah," he says. "These past days have been stupid on my part. I wanted to grab dinner so I could tell you why?"

Harry bangs his head against the wall. 

There's silence for a little before Louis sighs. "Yeah, okay. When and where?"

Harry's so happy his chest could burst. He rattles off the restaurant and the time and hangs up with a small _goodbye_. 

Louis says bye and Harry's still smiling when the dial tone sounds. That went so much better than he thought it would. 

++++++

Louis shows up at the restaurant in dark, tight jeans and a graphic tee. Harry kind of wants to bend him over a table. He coughs instead. He has a child he has to rescue from Niall; he doesn't have time for messing about.

They exchange pleasantries before sitting at the table. 

"So," Louis says. Harry goes to repeat it, as tradition states, but Louis waves it away. Harry closes his mouth and ignores the feeling of hurt that surges through him. "You wanted to explain, so explain."

Harry nervously takes a sip of water before leaning back in his chair. He plays with the napkin in his lap. 

"So Poppy obviously had a mother, right?" Harry starts. "Well she didn't want to stick around, obviously, so now I get to raise this 5 year old by myself." 

He takes a glance at Louis, but his face is still unreadable so he sighs and continues.

"She didn't want me and we'd been together since high school, so it stung a little. She, uh," Harry laughs. It's not his fault if it sounds bitter. "She told me that no one would ever want me in no uncertain terms and then she packed up and left all because I told her I _might_ like men."

"Oh," Louis says. 

"Yeah," Harry sighs. "It's not, like it's going to ruin me forever, but I still need time."

Louis smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes. "I told you time is fine," he says. "I just don't understand why you stone cold ignored me out of the blue for three days."

"Um," Harry says, blushing. "It was something Poppy said; it's not that big of a deal."

Louis raises his eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

"Really," Harry says, taking a sip of his water. 

He's saved from saying more when the waiter arrives and asks for their orders. 

+++++++++

They spend the rest of the meal laughing and sharing stories. Harry thinks it's quite nice.

It becomes a little nicer when Louis stands on his tip toes to kiss his cheek as they leave.

If Niall asks him why he looks so happy when he goes to pick up Poppy, he only grins more in response.

+++++++++

Life goes on, and Harry and Louis still flirt with each other whenever they see meet, but they're still on that strange cusp between dating and not dating. 

It's on the day term ends that Harry gets the nerve to take it a step further.

He walks into the classroom, the last person there, as usual, and goes over to where Louis and Poppy are drawing. 

The walls are beautifully covered by all the children's artwork and the sunlight is streaming through the window in a way that makes Louis look ethereal. They leave Poppy to draw as they walk over to Louis' desk. When Louis turns towards Harry, Harry leans forward and quickly pecks him on the lips. 

Louis looks at him and leans his head to the left in a silent question. Harry leans his head to the right and they stare at each other in the eyes before their lips meet. It's warm and nice and Harry feels it course through his entire body, lighting him up. 

He deepens the kiss and Louis hums into it. They kiss for a few more seconds before Harry's eyes snap open and he leans away. Louis looks at him in silent question, but Harry just tilts his head to where Poppy is obliviously still coloring. 

Louis starts to giggle and Harry lasts five seconds before joining him. When they're quite finished, they stand facing each other, much like the first day, except this time they're wearing matching grins.

"So," Harry says.

"So," Louis repeats, giggling.

"Call me maybe?" Harry asks. 

"Count on it," Louis says. 

They start another round of giggles before Poppy politely asks them to please shut up. 

Harry's leading them out of the classroom, when he feels a tap on his shoulder. 

"One more for the road," Louis says, when Harry turns around. This time, it's just a peck, but it has Harry grinning all the same.

He leads Poppy out of the radiant room with a light heart and a boy on his mind.

It's a start, and he thinks that they'll be okay one day.


End file.
